Trouble and Heartache
by Alexz Recoro
Summary: Tony’s undercover assignment leads to trouble for him and the woman he has slowly fallen in love with.
1. Chapter 1

Trouble and Heartache

Author: Alexz Recoro

Summary: Tony's undercover assignment leads to trouble for him and the women he has slowly fallen in love with.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Feedback: Please read and review

AN: Umm, in 'Singled Out', does anyone remember the name of the case that Tony was working undercover on? I don't, so I'm going to make something up. Sorry if that bothers anyone, but I honestly can't remember the name, and nothing was said about it after that. Hopefully we'll get the story someday, but for now I'm using artistic license.

CHAPTER ONE

"Jenny, she's in trouble!"  
"You can't know that Tony."  
"There's a leak. I know that and you know that. That is the only way my cover could have gotten blown. We need to get her out of there!"  
"Tony, she's not NCIS, she's FBI. I _can't_ pull her out, even if I wanted to, which I do. All I can do is warn the FBI that you were made. _They_ have to make the decision to pull her out."  
"But she was the one who got me in! Jenny, they'll _kill _her!"  
"I'm sorry Tony. But she was in the organization before you, it's possible that she can convince them that you fooled her as well as them. All we can do is hope that if there is trouble, she can call for help."

"My God." Tony fell down into the chair and put his face in his hands. Jenny felt horrible for her young agent. For two months now, Tony had been slowly infiltrating the Maltese Organization, a powerful crime syndicate that had ties to everything from drugs, to murder for hire, and even arms dealing. The FBI had an agent, Lakota 'Cody' Jackson, in place. When Cody had alert her superiors that the higher ups in the crime ring were starting to get their hooks into Navy contacts, the FBI had contacted NCIS and Jenny had assured them that she would put her best undercover agent on the job. Tony was that agent. Cody had got him in by claiming he was a childhood friend of her 'brother', who had died in prison. She claimed that Tony had done a stint in prison, and had gotten shived when he tried to protect her brother. Lucky for that story, Tony actually _had_ been stabbed by an inmate while he was in Baltimore and had the scar to prove it. And thanks to the computer genius at the FBI and NCIS, he had a criminal record too.

From the first time he had meet Cody, Tony knew she was different. She was originally from New York, and had a thick accent that got thicker when she was agitated. She was tough, sarcastic, completely cool under pressure, and had a wicked sense of humor that could bring Tony to his knees with laughter. She had a black belt in several different schools of martial arts, and could outshoot anyone with any weapon, except Tony with a handgun. They had competitions all the time, and they most often ended in ties. They were also tied in the few times one or the other had won. To be honest, Cody had helped Tony become an even better shot because he competitive nature refused to let him lose to, as he teasingly called Cody, a 'fed' or 'feeb'.

With her long, curly dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, her smooth, pale skin and even the small sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose, Cody looked like a textbook definition of innocent. And her small frame (she was barely five foot, and weighed 110 soaking wet) only added to the illusion. But Tony knew she could knock a grown man off his feet with one right hook, and he found it amusing. She and Tony had got along famously from the first time they meet, because he hadn't tried to flirt with her. Instead, he had treated her like a friend and a colleague, and she respected that. After watching each other's back in several stage firefights with law enforcement, designed to raise Tony and Cody in the eyes of the higher up, Tony and Cody trusted each other with their lives, and had a healthy respect for the others abilities, as an investigator, an undercover agent and their abilities to stay cool under fire.

They were also becoming fast friends. More than one member of the Maltese Organization had suggested that they were dating, and they denied it, but did nothing to hide their friendship. The Organization, which encouraged it's members to forge friendship and relationships inside the Organization in order to keep people loyal to their friends, was pleased that two of it's rising stars were friends. Cody had even reported to Tony that some of the inner circle, the twelve highest people in the Organization, who ran it, had even encouraged her to marry Tony. After they had stopped laughing, Tony and Cody had gone over to her undercover apartment to plan their next move. They spent a lot of time with each other, and enjoyed verbally sparring with each other, especially Tony, because when she got agitated, her New York accent got so thick that no one could understand her. Their verbal battles of wits were legendary in the Organization, often leaving other member rolling with laughter, along with Cody and Tony.

Tony cared about Cody a lot. He knew that. But he had never realized _how_ much he had cared about her until he realized that she might be in danger. _My God, I think I've in love with her_, he realized with a start as he sat slumped in a chair in front of the directors desk, his face in his hands, and his heart pounding at the thought of never seeing Cody smile at him, with her head tilted to the side and her blue eyes twinkling. Never again hearing her laugh, or feel her slip her tiny hand into his as they left the Organization's compound, the only sign that she had been tense or scared. Never again have her fall asleep against his shoulder in an Organization meeting, or invite him over to plan strategy and watch movies. Never again dance with her like they had a recent Organization party, holding her tight against him and hiding his face in her hair. Never again see her come running toward him and greet him with a hug. Never again see her eyes squint in concentration as she sighted up a target.

Just the thought of never hearing her voice again made him sweat. He couldn't bear the idea of never hearing her play the piano again, never being able to tease her about her taste in music (punk, heavy metal and emo), never again see her tattoo, a red duck with fangs, flames in his eyes, a mohawk and devil horns. Tony had laughed when he saw her tattoo for the first time, and he loved it. He knew that if he never saw her again, if she was killed, it would kill him and surely as if the Organization had put a bullet in his heart or brain.

"I'm sorry Tony." Jenny came around her desk and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know that you care about Agent Jackson, and I know that your friends."  
"Oh God." Tony gasped, letting two tears slide down his face as he looked up at Jenny. "God help me Jenny, I love her. I love her and _I can't do anything!_ She could be in pain right now, she could be dieing and praying that I'll come help her, she could be screaming for me right now and I can't do anything to help her!"  
"Oh Tony." Jenny gasped, while inside she was jumping for joy that Tony had finally found someone who could look at him and see past his exterior to realize that there was a man worth loving buried beneath the player mask. "Go to your desk and try to do some work. That's all we can do. And you know that Cody will call you if she can. Your one of only three people who knows her code sequence and you are the one she trusts the most. She'll call if she can, if only to let you know that she's okay."

"All right." Tony wiped at his eyes, then stood up and smiled, and Jenny suddenly saw all his pain and worry disappear behind his mask. "See you later Jenny." He left the directors office, his mask and smile firmly in place, telling everyone 'Just fine, everythings just perfect, don't pay any attention to me'. But on the inside, his heart was pounding in pure terror and he felt like screaming. _Please Cody, please call me! Oh, please, dear God, please. I'll never ask you for anything ever again as long as I live, just let her be okay! PLEASE! _

He crossed the bullpen to his desk, ignoring Ziva and McGee as he did so. He knew that both of them were waiting for him to brag about why the director had wanted to see him and only him, but Tony simply wasn't in the mood to start his usual banter. He simply switched on his computer and started doing reports, losing himself in the precise and boring military language that usually had him bored and irritating Ziva within ten minutes. To tell the truth thought, ever since Gibbs came back Ziva and McGee just annoyed him. McGee was strutting around like he was the new 'Golden Boy' of NCIS and Ziva wasn't making it any easier by proceeding to walk all over Tony in her rush to fawn over Gibbs. She was also always just waiting somewhere to pounce and twist the knife in his back a little deeper, and Tony wanted to go down to the motor pool and have his head run over by a truck. But instead he just irritated Ziva until she was practically ready to run from the building at the end of the day. Then Tony could sit alone in the dark and empty bullpen and finish his paperwork.

But today, he _needed_ the precise and boring language, the language that he could type in his sleep. And he needed that so that he could instead focus his thoughts on Cody, immerse his brain in memories of Cody, of the women he loved. He hoped desperately that she would live long enough for him to tell her. He had a feeling she knew and felt the same way, but of course they had never spoken about it, dancing around it and telling each other 'I love you' in a perfectly friendly way that really meant something different. They teased each other, but Tony didn't treat her like any other women in his life, because she _wasn't_ like any of the other women in his life.

Tony could still remember the very first time she had every really smiled at him, with her head tilted to the side and her eyes twinkling.

"_Tony, you're lucky I like you." Cody tilted her head to the right and grinned her lopsided grin at him, her eyes twinkling. Tony was convinced he had never seen anything as blue as her eyes right at that moment. And at that moment, his lungs forgot how to breathe, his knees lost their strength, and his heart tried to claw its way up his throat.  
_"_I like you too Cody." He told her, smiling.  
_"_Ahh, don't smile at me!"  
_"_Why not?"  
_"_Because your smile is way too sexy and you know how to use it. I should arrest you."  
_"_For what?"  
_"_Illegally acting sexy around a federal agent."  
_"_What ever you say 'feeb'." Tony teased.  
_"_DON'T CALL ME THAT!"_

And the first time she had ever slid her hand into his, the first time she had every admitted being scared.

"_Tony, are you ready to go?"  
_"_Sure Cody." Tony stood up and said his good byes to some of the lower rank Organization, who hide knowing smiles behind their hands. Tony ignored them.  
_"_Cody, are you all right?" She was pale, and he knew that she'd had an intelligence gathering mission today, which was a huge risk. Obviously it had been a success because she was here and leaving, but Tony was still worried about her.  
_"_I just have a migraine." She told him.  
_"_Lets get you home then."  
_"_Please."_

_As they were walking out the front door, Cody slid her tiny hand into his and laced their fingers together. He was surprised, but didn't betray it by even looking at her. He just squeezed her hand. She squeezed back so hard he almost winced. She maintained her grip all the way to the car. She released his hand to get into the passenger side, but as soon as he slid into the driver's seat and started the car, she had taken his hand again.  
_"_Are you okay Cody?"  
_"_I was scared today Tony. Really, really scared."  
_"_I got you. Don't worry, I got you."  
_"_Hold me tight Tony. Don't let me fall."  
_"_I won't."  
_"_Promise me Tony."  
_"_I promise." _

The first time she had ever fallan asleep on his shoulder.  
_  
Tony squirmed, trying to shake some life back into his arm. Cody, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder and caused his arm to fall asleep, wiggled closer to Tony, her head slipping off his arm and up against his neck.  
"Tony." She mumbled, half asleep. "Stop squirming."  
"My arms dead Cody. Come on, honey, you gotta wake up."  
"No." She protested sleepily, turning her head so that her face was hidden in his neck and fell back asleep. She looked so sweet and innocent asleep that Tony didn't have the heart to wake her. Instead, he wrapped his arm, which was tingling now that Cody's weight was off it, around her shoulders and paid attention to the Organization meeting they were currently sitting in so that he could give her a full report as soon as she woke up, which he hoped would be before the meeting ended. _

The first time she had ever trusted him enough to invite him over to her apartment.

"_Hey Tony, are you busy tonight?"  
_"_No."  
_"_You want to come over?"  
_"_Sure Cody."_

_By the time Tony got there, Cody was already dressed for bed in a pair of black pajama pants and a black tank top. Tony laughed at the scowl on her face.  
_"_You took long enough."  
_"_Miss me Cody?"  
_"_Oh shut up and get in here."  
_"_Oh, you did miss me."  
_"_Damn it Tony, are you trying to get me to kill you?"  
_"_What a way to go." Tony teased. He dashed past her into the apartment, laughing at the growl that escaped her as she slammed the door shut and bolted after him. _

_She jumped as he neared the couch, landing on his chest and causing him to land on his back on her couch, temporarily winded. She took advantage of this by grabbing a pillow and started hitting him with it.  
_"_Hey!" Tony protested as soon as he got his breath back, and was able to free his arms to cover his head. "Assault of a government agent! Don't make me arrest you!"  
_"_I'm a government agent too Tony."  
_"_That just means I can defend myself." Tony snatched the pillow out of her hands and started hitting her with it. She laughed and threw up her hands to block his hits to her head. Dropping the pillow, Tony grabbed her wrists and pinned them to her hips. _

_Cody laughed. "Okay, okay, I surrender." Tony released her and she slid off of him. "You want to watch a movie?"  
_"_Sure." Tony sighed inwardly. Most women didn't have a good movie collection. And by good, he meant divisive, not large. Cody was looking hers over, then smiled and pulled out a movie.  
_"_I feel like an old movie. You like Vincent Price?" She asked. Tony sat up on the couch.  
_"_I love Vincent Price."  
_"_Cool, me too." Cody gave him a weird look. "You know, you're kind of young to know who Vincent Price is."  
_"_Look who's talking." Tony teased. Cody was five years younger than him.  
_"_Ouch, I deserved that." _

_She put the movie, which happened to be House on Haunted Hill, into the DVD player and rejoined him on the couch. Cuddled together under a fleece blanket, with the only light in the room coming from the TV screen, they discussed ideas and strategy, in between jumping at the creepy images displayed on the TV screen. _

The first time they had danced, only two weeks ago.

"_Come on Cody." Tony stood up and held out a hand to her. She looked at him like he had just grown a second and third head. He resisted the urge to look behind him to also check for a tail.  
_"_Tony, have you lost your mind? I don't dance."  
_"_Tonight, you do." He took both her hands and pulled her to her feet, admiring the way her blue and green dress highlighted and accentuated every curve of her body. He idly wondered where she was keeping her gun tonight, but knew that if he asked he'd be going home with a broken knee cap, courtesy of the small woman in front of him. _

_He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. She fit into his arms so perfectly that Tony never wanted her to leave. Relaxing slightly, Cody raised an arm and wrapped it around his neck, the other one resting on his chest and gripping his jacket in a death grip, like she was afraid she was going to fall and he was the only thing saving her. She hid her face in his chest, not wanting to see or sense anything by Tony. Tony buried his face in her hair, which he could only do because she was wearing heels tonight. _

The first time she had ever ran and jumped into his arms.

"_Hey DiNozzo, Jackson is looking for you." An agent stiffly informed him. Tony had agreed to meet Cody at the federal building today, in order to go over some evidence the FBI had recently collected. Tony was relived. He and Cody had been separated in the Organization for two weeks, and he was nervous without her there to watch his six, or him there to watch hers. As he headed down the hall to his office, he heard her yell his name.  
_"_Tony!" _

_He looked up just in time to grab her as she barreled into him, hugging him around the neck so tight and pressing so close against him that it was entirely possible that it would take a surgical procedure to separate them.  
_"_Tony, I need you back. I don't trust anyone but you." She whispered in his ear, just before pulling away from him. He reluctantly let her go. By the time her boss and the other agents rounded the corner, Cody and Tony were side by side, chatting like two professionals. _

The first time they had ever competed in pistol shooting, which was also the first time he had ever called her a 'feeb'.

"_I'm so going to kick your ass out here Tony." Cody jeered as they got ready to compete on the FBI's pistol range. Tony scoffed as he checked his weapon, just like Cody was doing.  
_"_Yeah right. I was the best shot in my department before Gibbs got a hold of me, and he's an ex-Marine. They may be hard asses but they know how to shoot."  
_"_Yeah, but you and Gibbs have never gone up against me."  
_"_If I lose to a fed, Gibbs will die of embarrassment, after shooting me in the gut and watching me die a slow and painful death."  
_"_Tony, I swear to God, _I'm_ going to shoot you in the gut and watch you die a slow and painful death if you call me a 'fed.' one more time." _

_Tony grinned and winked at her. "Yeah, but then Gibbs would track you down, kick your ass and then allow you to rot in prison, if he didn't just shoot you. He's got this thing about being protective of his agents." He shrugged and holstered his weapon. "Besides, you know I love you."  
_"_Ah, Tony." Cody bounded across the yard or so that separated them and hugged him. "I love you too." She pulled his gun out of his holster and shoved it into his hands. "Now let's shoot." She looked so excited, like a kid at Christmas.  
_"_Sure, whatever feeb."  
_"_TONY!"_

The first time he had ever seen, or heard, her play the piano.  
_  
Cody didn't answer the door, but Tony knew she was home because he could faintly hear piano music through the door, so he opened the door with the spare key she had given him. The music became louder as he entered the apartment and shut the door silently, then made his way to the living room. Cody was sitting in front of the piano, eyes closed, no sheet music in front of her. She was just making it up, her fingers instantly and instinctively finding the notes that she needed to continue the slow, mysterious melody that she coaxed out of the instrument. Tony crossed the room and sat next to her on the piano bench. She wasn't surprised, she knew it was him. She also didn't stop playing, but she did turn her head toward him, open her eyes and smile at him._

_"Hey Tony."  
__"Hey."  
__"Is it time to go already?"  
__"Nah, I'm early."  
__"Wow, that's a first. I may die from shock."  
__"Cute."  
__"I know."  
__"Modest too."_

_They sat for a few seconds, just listening to the melody that Cody continued to create.  
__"I didn't know you played."  
__"Well, now you do."  
__"You're very good. That song is making chills run down my spine."  
__"It's supposed to. I'm thinking of calling is 'Spine'."  
__"Really, you're excellent."  
__"Thanks Tony. Really." _

The first time he had really examined her music collection, which gave him a whole new reason to tease her.  
_  
As Tony opened the door to Cody's apartment, he was almost knocked over the sear volume of the music that filled Cody's apartment. Cody looked up from lacing up her boots when he came into the living room and grinned.  
"What the hell is this!?" Tony screamed over the music. Cody laughed and turned it down.  
"It's a band called Wednesday 13. I love them."  
"I vaguely heard a reference to Vincent Price."  
"The song is called 'The Ghost of Vincent Price'."  
"Oh." He wondered over to her CD collection as she returned to the couch to finish lacing her boots. "You know, you have the weirdest taste in music."  
"I know."_

_"I mean, look at these. Panic at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Wednesday 13, KISS, Poison, Guns and Roses, Horror Pops, Transplants, Misfits, Simple Plan, Mest, Aiden, The Ramones, Sex Pistols, HIM, Sum 41, even Evanescence."  
__"What can I say, I like what I like."  
__"Some of these would get you beat up by fans of the others."  
__"Please. I could take on anyone." She stood up and smiled. "Ready to go?"  
__"Ready when you are." _

The very first time he saw her tattoo.  
_  
"You have a tattoo?" Tony stared at Cody is disbeilf, a grin spreading across his face.  
"Yep." Cody carefully avoided looking at Tony. She knew what his next question would be, and he didn't disappoint.  
"Can I see it?"  
"You know Agent DiNozzo, that's a very personal question for one federal agent to be asking another federal agent."  
"Don't call me 'Agent DiNozzo', Cody. I don't call you 'Agent Jackson'."  
"No, but our bosses would probably prefer it if you did."  
"The Organization wouldn't like it."  
"You got that right." Cody said with a laugh. She tilted her head to the side and studied him, then sighed. _

_"Oh hell. Why not?" She lifted up the side of her shirt, and pulled the hem of her pants down slightly to bare her hip. Tony looked at it, studied it, and then burst out laughing. It was a red duck, with fangs, flames in his eyes, devil horns and even a mohawk.  
__"Cody, I love it. How'd you think of it?"  
__"Not sure. At the tattoo place they had a duck and a devil right next to each other. I was looking, saw them and just kind of merged them. The mohawk was my own little contribution."  
__"Well, it is different. Just like you."  
__"Aww, Tony, you're so sweet." _

"Come on Tony, stop pouting." Ziva called across the bullpen. Tony looked up from his computer in surprise.  
"What? I'm not pouting."  
"Sure you are. McGee and I have been sitting here for two hours and we haven't heard a peep out of you. So, obviously, you had a fight with your girlfriend and are now pouting." Ziva blinked when cold rage replaced Tony's look of surprise and confusion.  
"First of all Zi-_va_, my relationship with _my girlfriend_ is absolutely _none_ of your business. Second of all, I just don't have anything to say right now."

"That's impossible with you Tony. You're too juvenile to control that mouth of yours."  
"And maybe I just don't feel like having you turn into harpy women on me while you butcher the English language, Zi-_va, _did you ever think of that?" Tony snapped back. He shoved his chair away from his desk and stalked over to the break room to get some coffee. He paced in the break room, needing a release from all this energy he had pent up inside. But the break room was too far away from his desk, so he grabbed his coffee and went back to his desk. Still needing a release, Tony set the coffee down on his desk and continued to pace behind his desk.

Ziva sighed after about five minutes and glared at him.  
"What is wrong with you?"  
"Why in the hell would I tell you anything?" Tony snarled back.  
"Tony, sit down before I shoot you. You're annoying me and wearing out the carpet."  
"Shut up Ziva, I'm not in the mood for you to walk all over me."

The phone on his desk ran just then and Tony leaped for it like it was a reprieve from execution.  
"DiNozzo." He said, sounding brisk and professional. Ziva watched his face intently. The tension in his face increased as he listened, but there was also a faint light of hope in his eyes.  
"Vincent Price." He all but whispered. Then the hope in his eyes died, only to be replaced with what Ziva could only describe as pure terror and all the color drained out of his face. "No." He whispered. Then he all but slammed the phone down and ran toward the stairs that lead to the Directors office like his shoes where on fire.

Obviously, Jenny was coming down to speak to someone, because she was halfway down the stairs when Tony got there.  
"Jenny!" He burst out, too upset to remember himself.  
"Tony, what is it?" Jenny asked. Then she took a good look at his face and all the color drained out of her face. "Oh no. Oh, God, please no."  
"She's in trouble Jenny, big trouble. She just called me and gave the 911 code. The code that means she fears for her life and can't get out."

"And if she called you, it means she can't trust her team. Oh God."  
"Jenny, we have to get her. We can't leave her there to die."  
"Agreed." Jenny said instantly. She rushed down the stairs with Tony on her heels. "Agent Gibbs." She stopped in front of Gibbs desk. Gibbs looked up, and took one look at her face, and Tony's, both white with worry and terror and jumped to his feet.  
"What is it?"  
"We have an undercover operative in trouble. They phoned in the 911 code not five minutes ago. I need you to lead a NCIS team to go in and recover her."

"'Her'?"  
"Special Agent Lakota Jackson. She's FBI."  
"FBI? Why can't there rescue their own people?"  
"She doesn't trust them, there's a leak." Tony burst out. "Please Gibbs, she's my partner. We have to get her out."  
"Let's go." Gibbs said. He turned and barked at Ziva and McGee. "What are you staring out? Get your gear! You heard the Director; we have an undercover agent in trouble! Move!"

"I need more people." He said, looking at the Director. She nodded and pulled out her cell phone.  
"I'll have every available team right behind you."  
"Let's go." Gibbs repeated. "DiNozzo, you're with me, Ziva you're with McGee."

AN: You know the drill. Tell me what you think, and I'll continue.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"Talk DiNozzo." Gibbs ordered as soon as they were speeding away from NCIS. Swallowing hard, Tony looked down at his feet. It kept his attention off of Gibb's driving.  
"A while after you, umm, retired, or whatever, the Director got a call from the FBI. They had an agent on the inside of the Maltese Crime Organization, Special Agent Lakota Jackson. She alerted them that the Organization had put out the word that they were getting some Navy contacts and were going to start using them to ship drugs and arms. So the Director decided to send me in undercover. Cody, sorry, Agent Jackson was able to get me in, and we've been undercover together for about two months. Then I got burned and had to pull out."  
"And the FBI just _left_ their agent in there you got burned?" Gibbs asked, incredulous.  
"Yeah. I thought it was stupid too. And then, this morning, Cody called me."

_"DiNozzo."  
__"Hey buddy-boy." Cody's voice sounded strained, nothing like her usual light hearted drawl. "Got a question for you, let's see if you pass. Who's my favorite actor?"  
__"Vincent Price." Tony answered, praying she would give the right answer, the answer that meant she was fine. Instead, she uttered the words that caused his heart to stop.  
__"Nope, wrong cutie. Humphrey Bogart. Better luck next time." _

"Humphrey Bogart?" Gibbs asked.  
"That was her 911 code, the code that meant she was in serious trouble and feared for her life. And she called _me_, instead of her team, which means she thinks, or she _knows_, that the leak came from them." Tony slid low in his seat and covered his face with his hands. "Oh God Gibbs, we have to get to her in time. I'll never forgive myself for deserting her if she gets hurt. I've seen pictures of what the Maltese Organization does to traitors Gibbs, and I _can't_ let that happen to Cody, I can't!"

"You really care about her, huh?" Gibbs said.  
"She's the best partner, and friend, I've ever had." Tony said seriously. "She's just perfect. She's smart and tough and sarcastic, and could probably kick my ass with one, hell _both_, hands tied behind her back. And she'd enjoy it too." Tony grinned half-heartedly. "She's never happy unless she's playing the piano or shooting at something. People work just as well as targets. She's quite simply the most unusual woman I've ever meet and she drives me absolutely nuts. But I can't help but like her and be drawn to her, and she has the way of just _looking_ at me that makes me think she can see right into my soul."

He sat quietly for a while and then sighed. "I love her Gibbs. I can't let her die, _I can't._ Because if she dies, I won't survive. I know I won't. I'll be as dead as if the Organization had killed me." He shook his head and laughed bitterly. "What a time, huh? As usual, I pick the worst time for my feelings to get the best of me. Well, what else would anyone expect of DiNozzo? After all, according to Ziva, I'm incapable of being serious."  
"You know that's not true." Gibbs said firmly, just barely avoiding looking at his agent. Good God, what had happened to the carefree investigator, who could go cold at a moments notice and then grin like nothing had happened? What had _Ziva_ done to his agent?

Tony probably thought that no one had noticed, but Gibbs knew that Ziva was constantly belittling Tony, constantly on his case to 'grow up', and start 'acting' like an agent. What Ziva didn't realize, or didn't _want_ to realize was the fact that Tony's entire 'act' was simply a mask. If Ziva had ever really stopped to think about it, Tony never got pissed off when he should have, never seemed to want anything from anyone, never asked for anything from anyone, and seemed genuinely shocked whenever someone actually expressed care over his needs or wants. The look of pleasure and shock in Tony's eyes when Gibbs had brought him a pizza in the FBI cell had shocked Gibbs down to his soul: Tony had looked like a little boy who had been slapped down so much he had stopped reaching out.

Now that he thought about it, Gibbs realized that's probably exactly what had happened. Gibbs knew Tony, while growing up rich, hadn't had the best childhood. There are people who just should not be parents, and Tony had had the bad luck to get those kinds of parents. The boy had probably been so starved for affection it was amazing he hadn't gotten into trouble and acted out. Instead, he had thrown himself into school and sports in a desperate bid for attention that he never got. Eventually it got to the point where Tony didn't know _how_ to do anything less then perfect, but he was also used to never being recognized for it, used to always being ignored and shoved to the side.

So he had assumed a mask. A mask that told everyone that his life was fine, that he didn't need a thing from anyone, that he could take care of himself and didn't need or want anyone's help. The first time that Gibbs had seen that mask crack was when he had been accused of murder and locked in a cell. Tony had honestly scared him, participating in an interrogation of himself, and seeming to take it for granted that no one he worked with cared enough to prove him innocent. He had been shocked to see Gibbs, even more shocked a few weeks later when Abby had begged his forgiveness, begged him not to hate her. He was so used to being ignored and slapped down whenever he asked for something that he just assumed that no one really cared about him.

And Ziva had done whatever she could to reinforce that idea of Tony's, slapping him down verbally whenever he offered an idea that she didn't like, or tried to give an order, an order she was _required_ to follow since Tony was senior field agent and she was technically only a liaison from Mossad. Gibbs frowned, and realized that he should have dressed Ziva down for that, loudly and in public. Instead, he had just sat back with a blank look on his face, and slowly watched his best agent become more confused and withdrawn by the week. Tony _knew_ he was a good agent, but if no one else seemed to know then he couldn't know if he really was a good agent or if he just thought he was.

Gibbs had noticed that his senior agent had changed. He had become more withdrawn, more silent at crime scenes, offering only a 'On it Boss'. He was less likely to smile and was quieter and more serious in the bullpen, half-heartedly teasing Ziva until she left and then staying late to do paperwork. All of his paper work was caught up now, so Tony had started poring over cold case files that were still stacked on his desk every morning when Gibbs showed up. Gibbs had heard Ziva say that Tony had 'grown up some', and it broke his heart. If Tony had 'grown up', then all it meant was that he was withdrawing farther and farther away from everyone, and if it kept up, they just might loose him. He was at the breaking point, and if Gibbs didn't do something soon, Tony would completely collapse, physically and possibly mentally. It might completely destroy him: at the very least, he would never be the same. Gibbs couldn't let that happen, not to Tony, not to _his _Tony, _his_ agent.

Gibbs shot a glance at Tony, and was shocked to see that his agent's mask had slipped enough to Tony's true eyes were showing. They were full of wariness and a hardness that was brittle enough to break at a cruel word or gesture. They were also much older than they had any right to be. Gibbs had seen eyes like that in the faces of POW's. They were the eyes of someone who had survived a living hell, but spent every waking moment constantly expecting to be thrown back into it. So he kept everyone at a distance, so that when they finally betrayed him and hurt him and threw him back into the hell he fought his way out of, that he could survive the pain and rebuild his shattered life. But it would be somewhere else, somewhere far away from NCIS, so that his past couldn't return to bite him in the ass and shatter his life once again. Because if it did, it might kill him. Hell, it might kill him _now._

Gibbs also something else in Tony's eyes he had never seen in the young agent's eyes: fear. Even when he had been lying in a hospital ward, literally coughing his life away, gasping for breath between hacks that expelled blood, his lips and fingernails tinged blue because his body wasn't getting the oxygen it needed, Tony had kept the mask up, no fear in his eyes, just weariness and resignation. After all, no one really cared if he lived or died, why should he? But now, Tony was terrified. Because the one person, the one _woman_, who had the courage to slip behind his mask and love the bloody and terrified child she found there, who had the strength to chase away his demons, who had the stubbornness to refuse to let him keep her at arms length, and who had the ability to soothe his shattered heart and heal his mental scars was in danger. He was in danger of loosing the one person who had _proved_ to him how much he meant to her, how much she cared about him, and the thought had him terrified. Gibbs knew that if they didn't get there in time, Tony wouldn't survive this lose, not this one.

Oh, he might survive physically, but mentally and emotionally he would be destroyed, he would never be the same. With that grim thought foremost in his mind, Gibbs hit the gas and sped up. They had to get there in time, because countless lives were in the balance. Not just Agent Jackson's, but Tony's, and the countless people he could only help, only find justice for, if he was whole and healthy and had the love of Cody to back him up and chase away the shadows.

_**AN:**_ Okay, a little shorter, but I really wanted this to be a introspective, from Gibb's point of view, about Tony's mental state and a little bit about his past. And if you notice, Tony really doesn't complain about anything important, and when he gets hurt, he just shrugs it off. He never really gets pissed, even though he has had multiple reasons to get pissed. So, anyway, just tell me what you think. Cheers! (Not sure where that came from, I just felt like saying it.)


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

"There!" Tony shouted, sitting up in his seat. "That's the compound, right there!" He pointed at a tall, iron, _closed_ gate. Gibbs spun the NCIS SUV in a move that would have had Tony's stomach in his mouth if it hadn't already been there because of how worried he was over Cody. Then he floored it, heading straight for the gate, and Tony swore and threw up his arms. But Gibbs had chosen the SUV for a specific reason, and it was that they were a _lot_ tougher than they looked, and could definitely take out a fence. Gibbs and Tony burst onto the compound, and, just like the Director promised, ten other NCIS SUV's followed them in, as well as four FBI cars, and five patrol cars from the local PD, lights flashing. Tony and Gibbs piled out of the car at the same time as the others, and the grounds practically shook as everyone there called out "Federal agents!" at the same time.

"DiNozzo!" An FBI agent yelled, sweeping the grounds with his gun as he ran to Tony's side. It was Special Agent Todd Hanson, one of the few FBI agents that Cody and Tony trusted.  
"Hanson, Cody called in a 911." Tony said, drawing his own weapon.  
"So we heard. She called you?"  
"Yeah. And you know what that means."  
"Damn it, she doesn't trust her control team." Hanson swore, and Tony was _very _glad he wasn't the agents on Cody's control team when he saw the look on Hanson's face. Hanson's experienced eyes also saw the look on Tony's face.

"Go." He told him, nodding toward the house, which was already being overrun by agents, FBI and NCIS. "Go find Cody."  
"Thanks Todd." Tony clapped the agent on the shoulder, and then ran toward the house, with Gibbs, Ziva and McGee on his heels. They burst into the house, listening to voices shouting 'Clear,' as each room was burst into, and who ever was in there was arrested. But Tony, who had studied the files on the Maltese Organization, especially what they did to traitors, until he thought his eyes would blister, knew instinctively where to go. He ran through the house and burst out into the enclosed outside patio in the middle. What he saw made his heart stop.

Cody's motionless body lay on the bricks, covered in blood. One of the huge muscle bound idiots that the Organization used for hired muscle stood over her, his foot drawn back. As Tony watched, the steel toed boot kicked Cody right in the ribs, lifting her off the ground with the force of it and rolling her across the bricks. The man also held a black leather belt, almost an inch thick, with a huge metal buckle, in his hands, and it was evident from the blood dripping off the end that he had used it to beat Cody.

"FREEZE!" Tony and Gibbs bellowed at the same time. "FEDERAL AGENTS!" Tony and Gibbs both had their guns and their full attention turned on the man, but Tony still heard Ziva and McGee gasp when they came in behind them and saw the blood, and the seemingly lifeless body of Special Agent Lakota Jackson. The man looked up and froze when he saw four guns pointed right at him. Then he looked at Cody, and Tony could _see_ the thought that he could get to her before they could shoot him. . .  
"Don't even think about it." Gibbs warned the man, his voice cold enough to crack steel. But the man was very stupid, and very fast. So fast that he had dashed to Cody and delivered one more bone breaking kick, this one to her back, before Tony, Gibbs and the others could shoot him.

But shoot him they did, and the man fell to the ground, dead, with four bullets buried in his chest, one from each gun. As soon as he was done and out, Tony holstered his gun and ran toward Cody, the twenty or so feet seeming more like twenty miles. It seemed to take forever for him to reach her side.

"Oh God, Cody." Tony fell to his knees at Cody's side. God, she looked awful! One eye was completely swollen shut, while the other one was closed, and Tony thanked someone that she was unconscious at the moment. Her nose was swollen and bruised and so obviously broken that it made him wince in sympathy. Her left arm hung so limply at her side that Tony had to swallow back the bile that rose in his throat. Her shirt was so ripped and torn that it was practically gone, and Tony could see horrible red welts, bloody cuts, and bruising on her chest and sides that extended around to her back. Almost every inch of her smooth skin was marred, and Tony knew that man was lucky that he was already dead, or Tony would kill him again, slowly and painfully. Cody's lips were horribly cut and swollen, and her chin was covered in blood from her lips and nose. There were several cuts and gashes on her forehead that continued to leak blood, and mud was smeared across her face.

Then she opened her one good eye, which was red from the mud and blood being smeared into it. Her gaze met his and she smiled, even though it had to hurt. She lifted her right hand and touched his cheek.  
"Hey." She whispered. Tony bent over her and gently put her arm back at her side.  
"Hey." He whispered. "Don't move, we got medics on the way."  
"How bad do I look?" She whispered.  
"You're absolutely beautiful." Tony told her. She laughed, then winced.  
"You're a horrible liar."  
"Maybe. But you're still beautiful."

"You're sweet." Cody closed her eyes and breathed heavily for a few minutes, then opened her eyes again. "Did you get them?"  
"Yeah, Cody, we got the entire inner circle, and a hell of a lot of the lower ranks. We got them. You did your job, and you did it perfectly."  
"Not perfectly." Cody shifted herself and winced again. "Damn, where are those medics? I could use some morphine." Tony laughed and stroked her hair, which was caked with mud and blood. She had obviously been dragged here from somewhere else. Then Tony noticed a lot of splinters and broken wood around, and looked up to find that one of the first floor balcony rails that surrounded the patio was broken. He thought he was going to be sick.

"Cody, honey, did you fall?" He asked, still stroking her hair.  
"Not exactly." Cody said, snuggling into Tony's hand. "That bastard who was hitting me . . . did you get him?"  
"Yeah, Cody, he's dead. We got him."  
"He caught me when I was trying to get out, after I called you. He dragged me back to the house by my ankle, through all that mud and crap in the yard. I got away when we got in the house, but the only way to run was up. He caught up to me and pushed me through the railing. I landed on my side, on my arm, and passed out. I only woke up briefly when he started to . . ." She swallowed and had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could continue. Tony stroked her hair the whole time. She continued. "When he started to whip me with that belt and kick me, and then I passed out again."

"Oh, honey." Tony wiped away a few tears that fell from her eyes. "It's okay. We got 'em. You did good."  
"Cody!? Tony?!" Todd Hanson's voice was frantic.  
"In here!" Tony called back. He looked at Ziva. "Ziva, run out and point him in the right direction, then go find the medics."  
"Why me? Make McGee do it. I have to start processing." Ziva said. Gibbs, who had been standing just out of Cody's sight, covering Tony and Cody, spun on Ziva with a cold fire in his eyes.

"AGENT DAVID!" He bellowed, causing everyone to jump. Ziva's eyes went wide enough to pop out of her head. Gibbs had _never_ yelled at _her_ before. Gibbs stomped over to her, looking mad enough to break her into tiny pieces and then ground them into the dirt. He got right in Ziva's face. "Did I just hear you deliberately disobey a direct order given to you by a superior?" He asked his voice hard enough to crack granite. Ziva paled.  
"Tony's not. . ."  
"_Yes_ he _is,_ David! _Agent_ DiNozzo is _Senior_ _Field Agent_! _Senior!_ That means he outranks you! So when he gives you an order, you better _damn_ well obey it! Do you understand me!?"

"Gibbs . . ."  
"_Do you understand me Agent David_!?"  
"Yes." Ziva whispered.  
"Yes _what!?"  
_"Yes, Agent Gibbs."  
"And. . .!?"  
"Yes, Agent DiNozzo." Ziva almost whispered, before practically fleeing the room. But Gibbs voice stopped her before she got to the door.

"David!"  
"Yes?"  
"Medical treatment of victims _always_ comes first! If I ever hear you refuse to go and get medics again, no matter who tells you, you will be off my team and back to Israel, and I don't care _who_ that pisses off! Do I make myself clear?"  
"Yes Boss." Ziva turned and fled the room.

McGee was watching with wide eyes and a dropping jaw, and so was everyone else, expect Tony. Cody's one good eye was so wide that Tony thought it would pop out, and her jaw had dropped open so far that the cuts on her lips had reopened. Tony gently closed it with one hand, and she smiled at him. Gibbs turned to McGee.  
"What are you staring at McGee? Get the camera, and Ducky, now!"  
"On it boss." McGee practically tripped over himself trying to beat Ziva's speed getting out of the room, but Gibbs had already turned away from him and knelt near Cody and Tony.  
"Thanks Boss." Tony whispered, his eyes never leaving Cody, whose face had just tightened in pain. "Breathe Cody, breathe baby, come on, come back beautiful."  
"It was a long time overdue. I messed up not doing it earlier. I'm sorry Tony." Gibbs said. Tony didn't have a chance to react to the surprise of Gibbs actually apologizing, because the smoothing words he had spoken to Cody seemed to work, because the pain faded enough that Cody could open her one good eye, which instantly focused on Tony.

"Damn, I hurt in places I didn't know I could hurt." She joked weakly. Then her gaze turned to Gibbs, who nodded a greeting at her.  
"Special Agent Jackson, I'm Agent Gibbs, NCIS."  
"Tony's boss." Cody said, one side of her abused mouth turning up at the corner. "No Agent Jackson stuff right now, okay? It's just Cody." She sighed and wiggled closer to Tony. "Anyway, I knew who you were the second I saw you. Tony talks about you a lot. Supposedly, you're the one who taught him to shoot."

"I just put the finishing touches on. When I meet him, Tony was already the best shot in the Baltimore Police Department."  
"Is it true that if he had lost a shooting match to me, a 'feeb', you would shoot him in the gut and watch him die a slow and painful death before dying of embarrassment?"  
"Entirely within the realm of possibility." Gibbs said with a small smile. _Now_ he could see why Tony was so taken with Cody. Even laying there with cuts and welt and bruises all over her body, an obviously broken arm, and very possible broken ribs, she could still make you laugh. Tony smiled too, and leaned over Cody, stroking her face with light brushing of his fingertips, searching for hidden injuries. When his fingers passed over her lips, she kissed them, and suddenly, Tony was grinning, and Cody was giggling breathlessly and they were the only two people in the room. Gibbs had to smile at the way Cody could pull him in and let him lose himself in her. That was a special gift, and he knew it meant the world to Tony.

"Tony?! Cody?!" Agent Hanson rushed in just then and went pale at the sight of his bloody and beaten agent. "Cody! Oh my God!"  
"Calm down Todd, I'm not dead, I just hurt." Hanson knelt next to Tony.  
"Where do you hurt Cody?"  
"Oh, well, I don't know. Try _everywhere._ I was tackled by a 300 pound man, dragged by same 300 pound man through a mud puddle of a lawn by my ankle, which I think he broke, by the way. I then _ran_ on that ankle up a flight of stairs, and the aforementioned 300 pound man then pushed me _through_ a wooden balcony railing and off a balcony. I landed on my left arm, which I am really, really, _really_ pissed off about, and then the _same_ 300 pound man, who is now dead thanks to the arrival of Tony and his boss and teammates, then whipped me with a leather belt with a huge steel buckle and kicked me all over this damn patio with his steel toed boots."

She took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow at Hanson. "So, tell me _Todd_, how in the hell do you think I feel?"  
"Like crap." Hanson said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "But still well enough to be the most sarcastic agent I have ever had under my command, with a wit bigger than she is."  
"You lucky I can't move."  
"And I'm going to take advantage of that as long as I possibly can."  
"I will eventually heal."  
"And when you do I will run for my life."  
"You can run but you can't hide."  
"Yes I can." He laughed when Cody stuck out her tongue at him. "Real mature Agent Jackson."  
"Shut up."

Ducky came in just then, followed by McGee.  
"Where are the medics?" Gibbs asked with a frown.  
"On their way Jethro. There are several wounded, some with quite serious gun shots wounds."  
"I don't care. This is a federal agent, they need to hurry."  
"I'll go get them." Hanson stood up, his black eyes like two chunks of black steel. "I'll make sure they hurry, I've got an agent down in here." He left, while Ducky ignored Gibbs flash of temper as only he could and moved around him to get a good look at Cody.

"Oh my."  
"Hi Duck." Tony said, looking up.  
"Hello Anthony. Special Agent Lakota Jackson I presume?" Duck asked as he kneeled next to her. Cody smiled.  
"Please, call me Cody. You must be Dr. Mallard, a.k.a., Ducky."  
"Yes, I am. And although my patients are usually dead, I wonder if you mind if I give you a once over?"  
"No, I don't mind."

Tony moved so that Ducky could look Cody over. When he finished, Ducky moved so that Tony could kneel back beside her.  
"Okay Cody. You've got some pretty serious injuries, but I don't think there's any permanent damage. Your left arm is broken in three places. . ."  
"I landed on it." Cody said with a grimace. "When I was pushed, from up there." She motioned toward the balcony. Ducky winced.  
"Well, I'd say it's a good thing you did. If you had landed on your back, you might have had spinal damage. From what I've seen through, the only damage to your back is some very nasty bruises, cuts and welts. Although, you do have several broken ribs, both in front and back, most of which correspond with specific bruises.

"That _bastard_ over there was kicking her in the ribs when we arrived." Tony said, motioning at the dead body. "He also kicked her in the back before we shot him."  
"Yes, these bruises are consistent with being kicked, with quite some force. You also have a cracked eye socket, your nose is broken, you may have a fractured skull, your collarbone is broken on the left side, and your left ankle is broken. All in all, I suppose you're very lucky that Tony arrived when he did."  
"I knew he would." Cody said as she linked the fingers of her right hand with Tony's. Her voice was confident. "I knew as soon as I called him that Tony wouldn't let me down. And he didn't."

"Cody . . ." Tony mumbled, cupping her cheek gently.  
"I know Tony." Cody lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. Tony couldn't say anything else because the paramedics wheeled a stretcher in just then, and he had to pull away so they could examine her. They listened with Ducky informed them that it was unlikely she had any spinal damage, and Cody also demonstrated it by physically sitting up and snatching the neck brace out of the one of the paramedics hands and chucking it at his head. They accepted that she didn't have any spinal or neck damage and instead helped her stand up, keeping her injured foot up and off the ground, and sit on the stretcher, then lay down. When they wheeled her out, Tony went with her, ignoring Ziva, who was peeking around the doorframe like she was afraid to come into the room, which was entirely possible.

They loaded her into the ambulance, but didn't leave because Ziva came running over, and Tony asked them to wait a second while he talked to Agent Hanson.  
"Make sure you save what's left of her clothes at the hospital. We'll need them for evidence. Also, I'm going to ride with her and take a statement if that's all right." She said. The paramedic was about to nod when Cody sat up and glared at her.

"The hell you are! You're Ziva, aren't you?" Cody asked, looking out her good eye at the Mossad agent. Ziva nodded. "If I wasn't in this ambulance with my arm being strapped to my chest, you'd be flat on your back with as many bruises I could give you." Cody said bluntly. "Get the hell away from me. I've only known Tony was a few months, but I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you, especially because he's told me all about how you've treated him. So get the hell out of my face before I get out of this ambulance anyway and kick your ass. I'm just pissed off that Gibbs got to yell at you and scare ten years off of your life before I got to you. But, trust me, if I had shown up at the office, like I was planning to do, and given you a piece of my mind, it is entirely possible that you would have gotten on a plane back to Israel just to make sure you never saw me again."

"I doubt that." Ziva sneered.  
"Oh, I don't." Cody snarled back. "I may be small, but I can be pretty damn scary when I put my mind to it, and when I get pissed off. Most people don't want to see me pissed off, but you had me pissed off before I even meet you because of how you've treated Tony!"  
"How I treated him?" Ziva said.  
"Yes. You deliberately disobey his orders, you mock any of his ides you don't like while taking credit for the ones you do like, and you treat him like he's five years old just because he doesn't act like you _think_ he should."

"He _acts_ like a five year old."  
"No. Let me tell you, Tony is one of the best undercover agents I've ever seen, and also one of the best investigators I have ever heard of. You've only seen what he _wants_ you to see, not what and who he really is. You just assumed he was immature because that's what you, and him, wanted you to see." Cody snorted. "You know, you're not a very good spy or an investigator if you couldn't figure out that Tony had a mask that he didn't want you to see through. You're an idiot, so get the hell away from me, or so help me, I _will_ get out of this ambulance and kick your ass, broken bones, bloody wounds and all."

"She'll do it too." Tony said suddenly. He eyes were cold as he glared at Ziva. He brushed right past her and climbed up into the ambulance. "Hey." He told Cody, softly tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.  
"Hi Tony." Cody leaned into his hand, then raised her right hand and slid it behind his neck, pulling him closer. Tony smiled and leaned against her, sliding his arm around her waist. Then he looked at Ziva, his eyes closed and his 'mask' impassive and unreadable.  
"Get out of here Ziva. I already told Gibbs I was riding with her to the hospital, and he said okay. He's also probably wondering where the hell you are when you are _supposed_ to be processing a scene. You better get back there before he gets mad." He smirked, but it wasn't his usual smirk. It was hard and cold. "Well, mad_der._"

The paramedics closed the doors, and the ambulance pulled away, leaving Ziva standing there with her jaw scrapping the ground and her heart sinking at the thought of facing Gibbs again, especially if Tony told him that she had been arguing with Cody instead of processing the scene.

**AN:** Well, there you are, chapter three. You know the drill by now, give my lots of reviews and I'll update as soon as I can.


End file.
